Nöbetçi Eczaneler
A search is underway for a diver from the French Polar Institute in Antarctica, who went missing during an ice dive on Tuesday morning.
In a statement published on social media on 13 January, a spokesperson for the Institut Polaire Français Paul-Émile Victor said the diver was carrying out a routine operation at Dumont d’Urville station in Adélie Land when the incident occurred.
‘This morning, a diver from the French Polar Institute disappeared during an under-ice dive in Adélie Land,’ said the statement (translated from French).
‘The safety protocol relating to diving operations had been implemented, and search operations were launched without delay.
The Australian Antarctic Division said that it had been asked to assist with the search, with a spokesperson saying that its team was ‘investigating all the options available to support the search effort.’
Dumont d’Urville station is located on Petrel Island, off the coast of Adélie Land on the eastern side of the Antarctic continent. The station supports year-round scientific research in one of the most remote and environmentally challenging regions of Antarctica.
No details have so far been released regarding the diver’s identity, the conditions at the time of the dive, or what might have led to the diver’s disappearance, however, the French Polar Institute offered its condolences to his family.
‘The French Polar Institute and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands express their deepest sympathy to the family of the missing diver, his loved ones, as well as to all the teams mobilised on site,’ continued the statement.
‘An investigation will be conducted in order to determine the circumstances of this disappearance.’
The post French diver missing after Antarctic ice dive appeared first on DIVE Magazine.